Biniam Girmay

Biniam Girmay Hailu (born 2 April 2000) is a Eritrean professional road cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam .
At the 2022 Giro d'Italia, he became the first Black African cyclist to win a Grand Tour stage after winning stage 10 in a reduced bunch sprint.
Career
After discovering cycling through his cousin Meron Teshome, Biniam joined the World Cycling Centre in 2018 for his second junior year. That year, he became a triple junior cycling champion of Africa, winning the road race, time trial and team time trial. He also won the first stage of Aubel–Thimister–Stavelot, beating out favorite Remco Evenepoel.
In 2019, with the Eritrea national team, he won the third stage in a sprint of the La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, his first professional victory. This made Biniam the first cyclist born in the 2000s to win a professional race. His success continued, winning stage 5 of the Tour of Rwanda in a sprint against experienced riders, including Joseph Areruya and Daniel Turek who finished 2nd and 3rd.
For the 2020 season, Biniam joined UCI ProTeam , with whom he finished second in the Trofeo Laigueglia and the Tour du Doubs.
After he was let go by earlier in the year, announced his signing on 6 August 2021. He made his debut for his new team days later at the 2021 Tour de Pologne.
On 24 September 2021, he finished second in the under-23 road race at the UCI Road World Championships, becoming the first black African rider to achieve a podium finish in the history of the UCI Road World Championships.
On 27 March 2022, in Gent–Wevelgem, Biniam was part of the winning breakaway, which also included Christophe Laporte, Jasper Stuyven, and Dries Van Gestel. In the finale, he was the first to launch his sprint, coming from the back of the group, and held on for the victory. In doing so, he became the first African winner of a classic cycle race.
Later that season, Biniam rode his first Grand Tour at the Giro d'Italia. On stage 1, he finished second to Mathieu van der Poel in an uphill sprint. Towards the next eight stages, he amassed four top five finishes in bunch sprints as well as a breakaway stage. On stage 10, in a reduced bunch sprint, he outsprinted van der Poel in a long sprint to win his first Grand Tour stage. He made history as he became the first Black African cyclist to win a stage at a Grand Tour. However, at the podium, as Biniam was opening the bottle of Prosecco, the wine cork hit his left eye at full speed. He was checked by race and team doctors before being sent to the hospital for treatment. The following day, Biniam confirmed that he would abandon the Giro in order to let his eye injury fully heal.
Biniam began the 2023 season racing in Spain, and had his first win of the year on stage 1 of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana. After a lack of results in the spring, he won the second stage of the 2023 Tour de Suisse, outsprinting Arnaud Démare and Wout van Aert. He entered his first Tour de France in 2023 as the team leader for , placing third in a sprint finish on stage 7. He was one of only two African riders alongside Louis Meintjes as well as the only black rider to compete in the race.
Major results
Source:
2018
African Junior Road Championships
1st Road race
1st Time trial
1st Team time trial
2nd Overall Grand Prix Rüebliland
3rd Overall Aubel–Thimister–Stavelot
1st Stage 1
3rd Trofeo Comune di Vertova
4th Trofeo Emilio Paganessi
2019 (2 pro wins)
1st Stage 3 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo
1st Stage 5 Tour du Rwanda
2020 (2)
La Tropicale Amissa Bongo
1st Points classification
1st Stages 3 & 6
2nd Trofeo Laigueglia
2nd Tour du Doubs
4th Giro della Toscana
2021 (1)
1st Classic Grand Besançon Doubs
2nd Road race, UCI Road World Under-23 Championships
2nd Tour du Doubs
5th Gran Piemonte
5th Route Adélie
6th La Roue Tourangelle
7th Royal Bernard Drôme Classic
7th Druivenkoers Overijse
7th Tour du Jura
9th Trofeo Laigueglia
2022 (4)
1st Time trial, National Road Championships
1st Gent–Wevelgem
1st Trofeo Alcúdia–Port d'Alcúdia
Giro d'Italia
1st Stage 10
Held after Stage 1
2nd Grand Prix de Wallonie
3rd Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec
4th Tour du Doubs
5th E3 Saxo Bank Classic
6th Bretagne Classic
7th La Drôme Classic
10th Milano–Torino
2023 (2)
1st Stage 2 Tour de Suisse
1st Stage 1 Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
2nd Trofeo Palma
3rd Trofeo Ses Salines–Alcúdia
4th Brussels Cycling Classic
7th Grand Prix de Wallonie
7th Paris–Chauny
8th Famenne Ardenne Classic
Grand Tour general classification results timeline
Classics results timeline
References
External links
2000 births
Cyclists at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics
Eritrean Giro d'Italia stage winners
Eritrean male cyclists
Living people
Sportspeople from Asmara
Tour de Suisse stage winners